There has been a significant change in the auto glass industry to eliminate expensive molded/encapsulated window edge trim and replace it with inexpensive thermoset plastic extruded cross-sections secured with an adhesive, preferably an adhesive tape. This extrusion is known as “lace.”
Lace resembles very thin plastic gaskets that cover the top and pillar sections of the glass. In their natural state prior to assembly, the lace is very flexible and is similar to rope. A difficulty in shipping these fragile extrusions is that, for example, corners will deform and take a memory set if not properly supported. When the extrusion is applied to the glass, the deformed corner will not seat properly and creates a water leak or road noise vibration. Therefore, it is very important to store and ship the lace in a “draped” configuration which supports the entire top edge and corners, thus preventing deformation.
Typically, a corrugated box with an interior shelf to hold the lace is the preferred containerization. Unfortunately, it is typical to only pack 75 to 250 pieces in such a box. The boxes are large and bulky because they must be similar in size to the final glass shape; generally on the order of 48×48×48 inches tall. The boxes typically are used one-way because the freight costs are prohibitive to return the empty boxes to the supplier.
In order to fully utilize the capabilities of such a large container, particularly with respect to the proper transport of 2 to 3 times the items of lace as are possible in conventional containers, it would be desirable to have a simple, cost-effective container for this purpose.